Long Trip Alone
by koinekid
Summary: Wandering the corridors of the Daedalus, Lorne ponders what could have been. The lesson he learns - you never know what you could have had until you've lost it.


**Disclaimer: **MGM owns SGA; KOI does NOT.

**Setting:** Post "Brain Storm"

**Summary: **Wandering the corridors of the _Daedalus_, Lorne ponders what could have been. The lesson he learns: you never know what you could have had until you've lost it.

**Note: **I've been sitting on this one a while. Thanks to **_DaniWilder_** for a quick beta read. FYI, this story features an established McKeller relationship.

**Stargate Atlantis:**

**Long Trip Alone**

**by koinekid**

_It's a long trip alone over sand and stone  
That lie along the road that we all must travel down_

_So maybe you could walk with me a while  
And maybe I could rest beneath your smile  
Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold  
'Cause it's a long trip alone _

from "Long Trip Alone"

by Brett Beavers, Steve Bogard, and Dierks Bentley

* * *

"No, no, no," the woman screamed, then, "Yes, God, yes!"

Maj. Evan Lorne chuckled low in his throat. Never would he have pegged soft-spoken Jennifer Keller as a screamer, but there was no mistaking the Midwestern accent that flavored the muffled shrieks penetrating the bulkhead. Two years ago Evan might have uncovered that information firsthand, but his and Jennifer's flirtation fizzled after her promotion to Head of Medicine. Only recently had he begun to regret that.

Days before, Evan became the first member of the Atlantis expedition to learn of Jennifer's new relationship from the woman herself. He supposed he should feel honored, even if the initial revelation was a slip-up.

Engine modifications to _Daedalus_ had taken longer than expected, lengthening their leave and stranding fourteen expedition members in Colorado Springs for two days. On the second night Jennifer proposed they all dine together in a "fancy" restaurant. To Evan's great surprise Rodney McKay, the expedition's congenitally unsociable Head of Science, joined them. It soon became apparent why.

Leaning against the bulkhead outside her—scratch that—Rodney's cabin, Evan scrolled through the pictures on his digital camera. Since the advent of digital photography eliminated the need to bother with film, the major had become a compulsive shutterbug. At the restaurant, he'd snapped pics so voraciously that the manager threatened to toss him out. Jennifer got a laugh out of that, and in revenge Evan stole a final shot of her sticking out her tongue before he tucked the camera into his pocket. That wasn't the photo he was viewing now.

This one depicted a very cozy Rodney and Jennifer. The natural way the scientist's arm had curled around the doctor's bare shoulders to draw her close was Evan's first clue that something might be up with the pair. The deep blush that colored her face and chest in the photo was his second. The clincher occurred toward the end of the evening.

The party broke up one or two at a time until only the three of them remained for the manager to chase out at closing. As they strolled back to the hotel in the dark, her skin glowing from the city's twinkling lights, Evan realized for the first time just how stunning this woman was. It might have been the endorphins, or too much scotch and soda; either way, he almost made the mistake of telling her.

Fortunately for all of them, Rodney beat him to it. A hangover the next morning would prevent Evan from remembering the scientist's words but not the delicate, reverential kiss he pressed to the doctor's lips. The camera would remember for him.

The flash captured their attention, and Rodney maneuvered himself between Jennifer and the camera as if it were a weapon. He demanded Evan hand it over. Slowly.

Gentle words and Jennifer's hand stroking his arm mollified the scientist. Momentarily sobered, Evan offered to delete the picture, but the doctor wouldn't hear of it.

"Email me a copy," she insisted, "and if you accidentally cc the entire base, oh well..."

"Jennifer?"

"I want people to know, Rodney. You're a catch."

With that, she pulled the scientist into a second, prolonged embrace, and a laughing Evan snapped off another couple of shots.

Reviewing those shots, Evan had to admit the couple looked happy. Rodney might be an asshole to everyone else, but he treated Jennifer like a queen. And wasn't that what really mattered? Finding the person who makes you happy? To the door, he whispered, "You're a lucky man, McKay."

The moment the words left his mouth the room fell silent. The major froze, perking up his ears so he could bolt if he detected movement from within.

"Oh, God. Oh, Rodney!" The newest moan practically rattled the door. Evan jumped back, tripped, and crashed into the deck. Scrambling to his feet, he decided the time had come to move along.

Down the passageway he checked to see if the fall had damaged his camera. It hadn't, but it had switched the image on the LCD screen. Smiling up at him was Sandy, the hot little number from Medical who'd been scoping him out all night at the restaurant. Evan had dismissed her interest then because he'd been having so much fun trading quips with Jennifer.

Not tonight. Determined to end the romantic dry spell he blamed for these unwelcome feelings, he went in search of the nurse. The galley and the rec room turned up plenty of female personnel, but most were paired off already. And those who weren't were single for obvious reasons.

Besides, he was a man on a mission.

Unfortunately, it was a mission doomed to failure. Evan found Sandy in the observation room fifteen minutes later. The price of dismissal? Spending the night alone and watching a member of his own team swoop in to pick up the pieces. Evan just wished that team member wasn't a scientist.

It was going to be a long three weeks.

_**The End**_

_**Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.**_

* * *

The character of Nurse Sandy appears courtesy of _**dwparsnip**_. Thanks for the permission by proxy.


End file.
